Study Guide MARKETING STRATEGY
* More likely essay questions…
Chapter 1
1. What is Marketing Strategy
2. What are the components of strategy?
3. What is the difference between corporate strategy, business strategy, and
functional strategy? What kind of tasks are included in each?
4. What is the difference between the four main strategic orientations (product,
production, sales, marketing)? What is the different types of market
orientation?*
5. What is the significance of delivering customer satisfaction in company
performance outcomes?*
6. What is included in a marketing plan?
Value Creation: SCA
1. What is value creation and SCA?*
2. What is customer value? What are some of the benefits and costs that
determine customer value?
3. What are the three firm value positions?*
4. What is value innovation? What is the difference between a red ocean
strategy and a blue ocean strategy? (reading 1) What are the four pillars of
the blue ocean strategy?*
Chapter 2 & 3
1. What is included in corporate strategy decisions?
2. What is a mission statement? What characteristics does it have? (be prepared
to write one)*
3. What are the components of a company objective?
4. What is a business portfolio? What kinds of portfolio decisions are given at
the corporate level? Which frameworks would aid the corporation in making
portfolio decisions?*
5. What is the BCG matrix? What is it used for? What are the advantages and
disadvantages of this framework?*
6. What is the GE model? How is the GE model an improvement over the BCG
model?
7. What is the product market expansion grid? What is it used for?
8. What is a business unit strategy? What kind of decisions are made at the
business unit level?
9. What are Porter’s generic strategies? What are the advantages and
disadvantages of each? What is the difference between
cost/differentiation/focus strategies?
10. What are the suggested Miles and Snow strategies? What are the advantages
and disadvantages of each?*
Chapter 4
1. What is the difference between a market and an industry?
2. What is included in the 5Cs analysis? what is it used for? Make sure you
understand what they are and what we study under each C.
3. What are Porter’s 5 Forces?
4. What is the difference between market potential and market penetration?
What forces slow market penetration? How do marketing mix decisions
impact penetration?*
5. What is a market development index? What does a low vs. high MDI indicate?
Chapter 5
1. Explain the marketing research process.
2. What are the different types of research design? What is the difference
between them, and when is each appropriate? (exploratory, descriptive,
causal)
3. What is the difference between primary data and secondary data? What are
the pros and cons of each?
4. What is sampling? What is the difference between probability sampling and
nonprobability sampling?
5. What is a perceptual map? What is the difference in Semantic Scale maps and
MDS maps in Markstrat? (be prepared to read one)
6. What is conjoint Analysis? How is used, and what does the output tell us?
Chapter 6 & 7
1. What is segmentation, targeting, and positioning?
2. What is required for effective segmentation?
3. What are the bases of segmentation?
4. What are the main target market strategies?
5. What is positioning and repositioning?
6. What is a value curve? How is it used? Also revisit how it was used in blue
ocean strategy.*
Chapter 8
1. What are the stages in the PLC? What are the main characteristics of each of
the stages?
2. What are the six categories of New Products?
3. What’s the difference between a pioneer and a follower? What are some of
the advantages and disadvantages of being a pioneer? and what are some of
the advantages and disadvantages of being a follower? (book + reading)*
4. What are some Strategic Marketing Programs for Pioneers?*
Chapter 9 & 10
1. What are the key characteristics of a growth market? Mature market?
Declining market?
2. What is the primary objective of an early share leader/follower in a growth
market? How can they achieve this goal?
3. What are the strategies suggested for share leaders?
4. What are the strategies suggested for followers?
5. Strategies recommended in mature markets/declining markets? *